1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a beverage container with a rotatable cover and an automatically extendable drinking straw, and more particularly, to such a container having a straw-bending member and a slot-closing member on a cap.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A beverage container with a rotatable cover and an automatically extendable straw as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 was well known. This beverage container comprises a body 11, a cap 12, upper and lower straws 13 and 10 and a cover 14. The body 11 is a hollow cylindrical member for containing a beverage such as juice, water, etc.
The cap 12 is screwed onto an outer thread of the open end of the body 11. Upper and lower disk members 121, 122 of different diameters are formed with an annular groove 123 and two symmetric cuts 124. The cap 12 is formed with a through hole 126 to receive the straws 13, 10 through which a user can suck the beverage from the body 11. A member 125 with a flat top surface is also attached on the cap 12.
The cover 14 is disposed above the cap 12 and has an open end. Two symmetrically disposed projections 141 are formed on the inner edge of its open end corresponding to the cuts 124 in the cap 12. An upper wall of the cover 14 is formed with a slot 142 therein to receive the-upper straw 13 which extends therethrough. A stopper 143 is formed on the bottom surface of the upper wall in the vicinity of the slot 142.
When the projections 541 on the cover 14 are aligned with the cuts 124 on the cap 12, the cover 14 fits on the cap 12. The cover 14 can be rotated counterclockwise to move the slot 142 to a position above the upper straw 13 which then extends outwardly through the slot 142 by means of its own resilience to enable a user to suck the beverage from the body 11. Conversely, when the cover 14 is rotated clockwise, the upper straw 13 is acted on by the upper wall of the cover 14 and it is hereby withdrawn back into the cover. The rotation of the cover 14 is stopped when the stopper 143 on the cover 14 abuts against the member 125 which is then just below the slot 142 to block the slot 142 in order to prevent foreign objects from entering into the cover 14.
One drawback of such known container is that the member 125 having a flat top surface fails to effectively shield the slot 142 formed on the slightly arcuate upper wall of the cover member 14. Consequently, dust or other contaminants may pass through the clearance between the slot 142 and the member 125 to contaminate the upper straw 13 and the cap 12.
In the known container, only the cover 14 acts to bend the upper straw 13 causing it to be temporarily pinched off and thus preventing leakage when not in use. It is found, however, that the cover 14 fails to completely clamp off the upper straw 13 to prevent leakage because the bent upper straw 13 will incline upwardly within the cover 14 (FIG. 2).
Furthermore, it is also difficult for a user to recognize whether the cover 14 has been rotated to a position allowing the upper straw 13 to extend outwardly through the slot 142.